USA TODAY Sports-MMAjunkie.com MMA Rankings: March 11 edition

Welcome to the latest edition of the USA TODAY Sports-MMAjunkie.com MMA Rankings.

Each Monday, MMAjunkie.com publishes an updated list of the top 15 fighters, as well as three honorable mentions (in alphabetical order), in the eight primary male weight divisions. The rankings also appear monthly in the print edition of USA TODAY.

This past week saw just one ranked fighter, Bellator featherweight Marlon Sandro, in action. Sandro entered the week ranked No. 15 in the 145-pound division but suffered a TKO loss to Magomedrasul Khasbulaev at Bellator 92.

The loss knocked Sandro out of the rankings, and Nik Lentz moves from an honorable mention slot to No. 15. Robert Peralta, meanwhile, takes Lentz’s spot as an honorable mention in the division.

While we’re discussing the featherweight division, the positioning of former UFC champ Frankie Edgar as a featherweight honorable mention has created a bit of a stir since our rankings debut.

Edgar’s positioning is indeed a difficult proposition. After all, he has yet to register a featherweight win after recently falling short against current champ Jose Aldo. Edgar showed incredible skill and determination against lightweights Benson Henderson, Gray Maynard and B.J. Penn. However, it’s important to note that he is just 1-3-1 in his past five fights and has registered just one victory in the past two-and-a-half years. Although the losses were close, in terms of rankings, wins and losses must represent exactly that. The rankings offer an evaluation of a division at any particular moment – a snapshot in time, if you will – and for now, at least, Edgar needs to register a win or two to climb the ladder at 145 pounds.

Check out the full rankings below, or simply click on the Rankings tab above.

The rankings take into account a fighter’s wins/losses, quality of competition, finishing rate/dominance and frequency of fights.

Fighters are no longer eligible to be ranked after they’ve been inactive for 24 months, either due to injuries, drug/conduct suspensions, contract disputes or self-imposed hiatuses.

Fighters serving drug/conduct suspensions are eligible to be ranked, so long as they’re not inactive for more than 24 months.

To the best of our ability, fighters will be ranked in their primary weight class. Catchweight fights and bouts outside the fighter’s primary weight class can have a positive or negative impact on the ranking. However, fighters can be ranked in only one weight class at a given time, and in most cases, they won’t be ranked in a new weight class until they’ve had their first fight at that weight.

ranking criteria

The rankings take into account a fighter's wins/losses, quality of competition, finishing rate/dominance and frequency of fights.

Fighters are no longer eligible to be ranked after they've been inactive for 24 months, either due to injuries, drug/conduct suspensions, contract disputes or self-imposed hiatuses.

Fighters serving drug/conduct suspensions are eligible to be ranked, so long as they're not inactive for more than 24 months.

To the best of our ability, fighters will be ranked in their primary weight class. Catchweight fights and bouts outside the fighter's primary weight class can have a positive or negative impact on the ranking. However, fighters can be ranked in only one weight class at a given time, and in most cases, they won't be ranked in a new weight class until they've had their first fight at that weight.